Blues Week 2025 Update: Dariush Kanani replacing Rainer Brunn (who is unwell)

Dariush Kanani will be replacing Rainer Brunn and will be teaching one beginner/intermediate and two intermediate/advanced guitar classes each day. Dariush is a fingerstyle guitarist specialising in folk, blues, ragtime and the British folk legendary guitarists. Captivated from a young age by the guitar playing of Bert Jansch, Davy Graham and John Renbourn, Dariush has performed, studied and taught with some of the most influential figures in fingerstyle guitar. These include Renbourn himself, Stefan Grossman, Clive Carroll and Wizz Jones.

Beginner/Intermediate
‘From Hurt to Bert’ – Self-contained fingerpicking guitar accompaniment.
This course will be an introduction into the art of playing/arranging/composing a self-contained solo fingerpicking guitar accompaniment underneath a vocal.

We’ll be drawing from the playing of Mississippi John Hurt and Bert Jansch and seeing how this accompaniment style crossed over the pond to Britain during the 1960’s folk revival – and in doing so, giving birth to a distinctly ‘British’ sound yet still rooted in rural American country blues.

Intermediate/Advanced
‘Groove in the Blues’
This course will look at different techniques in establishing a solid groove in solo-fingerpicking 12 bar blues accompaniment. We’ll be looking at the ‘back-slap’ technique synonymous with John Martyn taking his version of the song ‘Jelly Roll Blues’ and breaking down the various left and right hand techniques which give it’s distinctly funky groove. We’ll also be looking at improvisational ideas which can be employed inside it.

Intermediate/Advanced
‘The American Country Blues influence in British Fingerpicking Guitar’
This course will explore some of the techniques and musical language of Country Blues and how it influenced British fingerpicking guitar innovators, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davy Graham. We’ll be learning musical motifs, riffs, licks and tricks from these 3 players and exploring the musical threads they share with American Country Blues guitar playing.